3 Card Brag

How to play 3 Card Brag.

The basic rules of 3 Card Brag.

1. Choose from either of these two main betting options:
1. Ante. Bet that you’ll make a better hand than the dealer.
2. Pair bonus. Bet that you’ll make a hand that qualifies for a payout. The better the hand the bigger the payout. The dealer’s hand is irrelevant.
2. After clicking "Deal" you and the dealer will be dealt 3 cards. The dealer’s cards will be face-down.
• If you bet on "ante" and you think your hand is good enough to beat the dealer’s, you have to place another bet (equal to the size of your original bet) by clicking "Play". The dealer’s hand is then turned over. If you have the best hand, you win. If not, you lose.
• If you bet on "pair bonus" you simply have to hope that the 3 cards you are dealt qualify for a payout. The payouts vary depending on the strength of the hand you are dealt.
3. The rank of hands in 3 Card Brag is as follows; pair, flush, run, running flush, prial.

Three Card Brag is incredibly similar to Three Card Poker. One of the main differences is the slight variation in the rank of hands. For example, three of a kind is the best hand in 3-Card Brag, whereas a straight flush is the best type of hand in Three Card Poker.

If you’re not familiar with Three Card Poker or Poker/Brag in general, here are the rules to playing 3 Card Poker online in a little more detail:

3 Card Brag rules in more detail.

When you first play 3 Card Brag online it can seem quite confusing. However, once you’ve learnt the rank of hands and understand the two different betting options it’s very straightforward.

3 Card Brag rank of hands.

If you’ve ever played poker before, the rank of hands in 3 Card Brag should be a doddle. The types of hands are pretty much the same, except that they have different names and are in a slightly different order.

Starting from the lowest rank:

• Non-qualifying hand. This only applies to the dealer when he only has a "high card" hand and his highest card is lower than a queen.
• High card. You do not have a pair or better (e.g. K, 7, 2).
• Pair. Two cards of the same value (e.g. 8, 8, K).
• Flush. Three cards of the same suit (e.g. three spades).
• Run. Three cards of different value in a row (e.g. 5, 6, 7). This is known as a straight in poker.
• Running flush. Three cards of the same suit in a row (e.g. 8, 9, 10 of diamonds). This is known as a straight flush in poker.
• Prial. Three cards of the same value (e.g. Q, Q, Q). This is also known as three of a kind in poker.

Note 1: The strongest possible hand in 3 Card Brag is a Prial using three 3’s (e.g. 3, 3, 3). The second strongest hand would then be three Aces.

Note 2: The strongest run and running flush is; A, 2, 3, as opposed to; A, K, Q.

3 Card Brag betting options.

There are two betting options (or "games") within 3 Card Brag:

1. "Ante" - betting against the dealer.
2. "Pair bonus" - not betting against the dealer.

1) "Ante" - betting against the dealer.

• Both you and the dealer are dealt 3 cards. The dealer’s cards will be face down at first.
• Your aim is to be dealt a stronger hand than the dealer’s.

At the start of this game, you place your bet on the "Ante" section of the table. After clicking "Deal", you and the dealer will be dealt 3 cards, with the dealer’s cards being face-down. You now have the option to "play or "fold".

1. Play - If you like the look of you hand and you think it will be the dealer’s, you should choose "play". By selecting play you have to place another bet on the table equal to the size of your original bet. So if you bet £1 at the start, you will have to place another £1 on the table, making a total bet of £2.
2. Fold - If you do not like the look of your hand, you should select "fold". If you fold you lose your initial bet (e.g. £1 if we’re using the same example as above), but you save yourself from losing any additional money by placing further bets and losing to a better hand.

Ante payouts.

If you have the best hand and the dealer’s hand qualifies, you win 1x both of your bets from the "ante" and "play". So if you originally bet £2 and decided to play, you would be returned £8 (£4 stake + £4 winnings) in total.

If you have the best/any hand and the dealer’s hand doesn’t qualify, you win 1x your stake for the "ante" and your bet for "play" is returned (without any winnings). So if you originally bet £2 and decided to play, you would be returned £6 (£4 stake + £2 winnings) in total.

If you decide to play but have the worst hand, you lose both your ante and additional play bet. Therefore, if your original bet was £2, you would lose £4 (£2 + the £2 additional bet) in total.

Ante bonus payouts.

In addition to the standard payouts for beating the dealer’s hand, there are a few small bonus payouts for making especially strong hands.

• Run = 1x
• Running Flush = 4x
• Prial = 5x

Note: The payouts for making certain strength hands in this game are not as big as they are when you are not playing against the dealer in the "pair bonus" game.

2) "Pair bonus" - not betting against the dealer.

In this game of 3 Card Brag it doesn’t matter what the dealer’s cards are. Instead, you simply have to hope that you make a strong hand with the 3 cards you are dealt.

The stronger your hand is, the bigger the payout. You just place your bet on the table and receive your 3 cards. No need for any other extra bets.

The pair bonus game in 3 Card Brag is simpler with bigger payouts, but in general it’s not as easy to win money from each individual game as it is with the standard "ante" bet.

Pair bonus payouts.

• High card = lose
• Pair = 1x
• Flush = 4x
• Run = 6x
• Running flush = 30x
• Prial = 40x

Fact: If you get a Prial when playing pair bonus, you get a 40x payout. If you get a Prial in the standard dealer game on the other hand, you only get a 5x payout.

Play 3 Card Brag online at Paddy Power now